Bonding Conflict
by Songwind k'Vala
Summary: Oneshot. A Heraldmage is sent to stop the kidnapping of children along the Karsite border, but it turns out to be quite unexpected when the King and King's Own die simultaneously...edited, apologies to etc cat.


Set sometime before the Last Herald Mage series. All characters that you don't recognise are mine. The rest is MLs.

Invented term: Battle-Adept. Adept which specialises in spells of combat and war, but can't do others (like Gating) well. Definition is like a Healing-Adept and Sorcerer-Adept.

Spell of true observation: a more advanced version of the spell of true sight that White-Winds Adept Kethryveris used in the job that spawned the song 'threes'. You know the song by Firebird Arts, it's got something like '3 things never trust in; a feather on a cat, the shepherd eating mutton, and the guardsman that is fat.'

**

* * *

King' Own**

It was, once again, a cold, usual winter day on the Karsite border. The sky was covered in clouds threatening a blizzard later, and frost covered the ground in the Forest. Through the snow, a pair of silent figures ghosted towards a certain clearing unerringly.

In a forest close to the border, a band of men, numbering about two dozen in all, prepared to camp down and brave out the winter storm, before proceeding over the Karsite border during the night. The men grumbled in a mixture of Karsite and Valdemaran, complaining about everything that they could think off. One of the shadows paused and went a bit closer, his hands moving, if anyone had seen, in the Spell of True Observation.

"I wish the boss would let us have a go at the booty first." One of the men, who had just taken a piece of meat complained to the next in line.

"Which one you eyeing, Kiers? That little, scrawny _BOY_ we took?" the first man flushed, and quickly bit into the meat, changing the subject.

"Arrgh" the Kiers spat. "This food is disgusting! Hey, demonspawn, what did you guys do to torture this before you people destroyed it?"

"Why don't you cook, you dog-breathed scumbag?" the cook stepped in menacingly, flanked by a pair of his fellows. "Maybe you think it's a women's job? Wait, in that case you should be able to do that well. After all," a leering wink "you DO share the same preferences…"

"Why you…" the original man would have struck, his face red, if not for a quiet, disgusted voice out of the shadows.

All the men turned as one, as a thin, lanky man stepped from the shelter of a wagon overhang. "What, a quarrel already? Do go on. It'll be interesting if you bleed and I get my hands on your blood. It will be quite a boon to use it to pull the rest of the energy out of your bodies." The men paled. "What, changed your minds? A pity. Do tell me if you change them back. Now, if you'd excuse me…" the man turned back into the wagon and firmly shut the door behind him.

Kiers grudgingly broke the silence, apologising. "Sorry, Donall."

"whatever." The other slaver, although accepting the temporary truce, knew that this was just a reprieve and that it would continue. Later.

Not while the Mage was there, though.

All the men had seen him power a spell against intrusion and the Winter Snowstorm. That particular ritual had caused even the battle-hardened slavers to flinch, as the man literally tore the heart and entrails out of a rabbit with his bare hands to provide power for the spell. Although he was only a Journeyman, no one wanted to cross him after _that_ incident.

Kiers went back to talking with his friend. "So, how much do you think the Priests are gonna pay us for this load?"

"It's not like we're going to get anything much. Chief and Mage get the Lion's share. However, I estimate…maybe thirty gold. There're seven boys, twelve girls and two teen girls, so that should be about right."

"Nah…"

Caught up in their wrangling, neither of them noticed that a shadow, which had crept in while they were talking, moved away unnaturally.

* * *

Next to his Companion, Herald-Adept Endar abruptly materialised out of thin air. A wave of dizziness struck him then, as the effort of engaging in fighting the fire at the village, maintaining several spells at once, as well as guarding against detection caught up with him. 

: _Are you all right?_ : His Companion, Relaith asked worriedly.

: _Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that exerting so much spell power without daring to draw from Ley Lines or Nodes exhausts me tremendously. If only it wasn't so close to Karse..._:

: _Well, you had better take good care of yourself, you understand? You're a Battle-Adept, and Valdemar needs you safe and whole, not some nervous wreck of a man!_ : The Companion's Mindvoice was worried. : _Now, are you sure you're ok? No 'bruised' feeling? No splitting, blinding pain?_ :

: _No, dear heart, I'm fine. Just a feeling of dizziness, not even nausea yet._ : Privately, he rehashed an old argument with himself, which he had tried to quash countless times but always failed to put down totally.

_Why can't he Feel me properly? Everyone else's Companion can Feel them perfectly well, as if they shared the same body. They don't ask each other questions like this! And yet I've never experienced it with Relaith. It _has_ to be my fault. Is it some character flaw that makes me unworthy of that deeper bonding? Is it…_

A comment from Relaith brought him out of his introspection. : _Snow's starting. You'd better get into position now. _: He stood rock still for awhile, in a 'listening' pose. : _Taver says that if you really need to, you can draw on the Nodes, but you have to be out of there within half a mark of using it before the Karsites can get a Demon to you. Good luck. The Guard will be waiting, so if you get into trouble don't you dare act the hero. Run out here. _: He gently nuzzled his cheek. : _Call if you need help. Remember, I'm a Master Mage. You can use my abilities if you need too and I can feed you power. _:

: _Sure._ : Long farewells give the enemy time to aim. : _I'll be back. _:

Wrapping the spell of invisibility around him again, he faded into the landscape.

* * *

When the storm struck, it did so with a vengeance. The Journeyman's spell had worked as predicted, shielding the Camp from the worst of the effects. It was still bitterly cold, however, and the Slavers huddled inside their tents, as the captured children did in theirs. 

Outside the Camp, no longer hidden by the invisibility spell, Endar took the fibres of power tied to the Warding spell into his hands, bending them. It resisted him, but he turned the full power of an Adept's will against it, and finally it bent, allowing him to slip through undetected. He stole into the camp.

Once inside, he rapidly, stealthily made his way to the prison caravan. He opened the mage-locked door with a twist of the activating energies, motioned for the children inside to be quiet and get out slowly. They all did, shivering as the cold hit them.

He quietly told them all "Don't be afraid. I'll create a temporary hole in the magical barrier surrounding the camp, and I want all of you to go through, one at a time. I'll cast a spell of heat on you so you won't get cold. Stay in threes, but if you split up, just keep going straight. Keep running that way and you'll go to some Guards who'll protect you. Now get ready."

He slowly counted to three, and, gathering his will, once again took hold of the barrier and bent it. Nodding to the children, they quickly slipped outside, forming up in threes before running towards the guard.

One. Two. Three.

He felt the power starting to slip and hissed "hurry!"

Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

The ward was starting to slip into place again. He exerted more power on it, and it stabilised…temporarily.

Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one.

With all the children gone, he quickly stepped through the hole, releasing the power that created it with a soft gasp of relief. He was turning to leave when…

-Disorientation-

-Loss-

-Pain-

-Sorrow-

The Death Bell reverberated in his soul, knocking him off balance and driving him to his knees.

-No…-

For the ones who had died-

The ones the bell had rung for-

Were Iridith and Taver-

Companions of Soranil and Raesalin-

The King and the King's Own.

He fell forward, involuntarily stunned with grief at the double tragedy that had struck Valdemar.

Unfortunately, this brought him into contact with the now-reset Ward spell. As it met and attacked his shields that had flared up, it emitted a piercing alarm that scaled upwards as his Shielding reflected the ward against itself, destroying it. However, it had alerted all the slavers in the camp, who came storming out, swords in hand, as he rapidly drew his own sword and began to prepare a spell.

They bared their teeth and charged him, twelve against one. It immensely was unfair odds.

They had never stood a chance.

Endar's right hand blurred as it moved in the spell of Ultimate Frost. A ring of cold spread around him, instantly turning the slavers into ice blocks, which he callously shattered with a single snap of a Levin-bolt.

That done, he turned to face the Mage

And realised his mistake.

He had forgotten the Mage used the Blood-path. Killing the slavers had released untold power into the hands of the Mage, who now used and shaped it into a lance of killing energy. He sent the Levin-bolt streaking towards him.

The Mage neutralised it, and responded with his own attack. Fending it off, Endar called up rings of ice, harnessing the power of the blizzard, to trap the mage. The mage countered with a burst of dark power that shattered the ice, and launched his own attack: a devastatingly rending maelstrom of blades designed to take down shields. With blood magic behind it, it proved exceptionally destructive.

Endar dispelled it, and launched spears of lightning.

Back and forth the battle went, until…

Endar, growing weary and desperate, drew power from the nearest node…

That was over the border, in Karse, thus alerting the Sunpriests to his presence…

And called the Lightnings down on the blood-mage.

The Blood-mage, confident that he would not tap the Nodes, was not expecting that devastating spell, and was rapidly vaporised.

Without looking back, he strode out of the camp, out of the woods back to his Companion.

All of the children were mounted behind the Guardsmen, save one. That one stood next to his Companion, looking apprehensively and slightly fearfully at him.

Giving her a quick, reassuring smile, he lifted her up behind the saddle, before leaping up himself and leading the convoy back to friendly ground before the Karsites could send demons after them.

* * *

Despite having returned to friendly territory, Relaith seemed in a hurry, and had gone rather quiet of a sudden. However, when he asked why, all he got was: _It's because of the King's death, dear._ : 

Which didn't really explain anything at all.

After they arrived back at the village, Relaith abruptly commanded him to…

: _What? Did I just hear you say…_:

: _Yes, I said to build yourself a Gate back to Haven. Something important is happening there that you must be at. Bring the girl back too._ :

: _But…I'm a Battle-Adept, for Kernos' sake! I'm not good at building gates!_ :

She snorted angrily and tossed her head. : _Do it. Now._ :

_Well, oh fine. If she really thinks that its necessary, its got to be important. Hmm…nope, no major storms in sight! That shouldn't give me too much of a problem, then._

Sighing, he spun out the threads of power, letting them spin out and quest for his target-the old doorway at Haven.

In a much shorter time than he had anticipated, the gate was up, and they stepped through.

Relaith appeared to be struggling internally with something. Finally, she whirled, turned and told him : _Endar…we must go to the Grove._ :

"But...shouldn't I see the new King and King's own first? Or get ready for the funeral?"

: _Hush, my love. This is important. And remember…no matter what happens, I love you. I wish it didn't have to be this way._ :

"Wait…what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere!"

: _Never mind. Just follow me, and bring the girl. To the grove. _:

His mind whirling, Endar grabbed the girl's hand, and they were running towards the grove.

When they entered the grove, he saw Relaith and another Companion standing there, together. He had just enough time to observe and realise the significance of the other-worldly aura the other Companion bore, before Relaith stepped forward.

Fixing him with one clear blue eye, he said coldly, in a tone that she had never used before, words that no Herald ever wanted to hear.

:_ Endar do Sulath, I do not know you. You are not my Chosen. _:

He screamed, as Relaith grabbed hold of the cords that bound them together, and _pulled_, ripping them apart.

He fell on his knees, his mind and heart torn into two, slipping into madness.

Before it was stopped by the clear sapphire gaze of the Other Companion.

: _Endar do Sulath. I am Rolan. You are My Chosen, never to leave again. _:

The coolness of a new-formed bond washed over him, plucking him from the depths of pain that had overcome him. He buried his face in the neck of the Grove-born Companion –_his_ Companion, and wept. Already, he felt the bond deepening from the shallow, surface thing that he had with Relaith to the immense, powerful, _sacred_ bond that signified a true bonding. He was not tainted or cursed after all; it was just that his Bond with Relaith had never really been there.

_Relaith._ When a Bond was broken, the Companion would die. Alarmed, he turned and saw, to his horror, Relaith with his head down, drooping, barely standing on quivering legs. The girl looked horror stricken and, before he could even do so, she rushed over and tried to help the Companion stand.

The neck unexpectedly came up, and in a clear, ringing voice that he was _sure_ everyone with the slightest bit of Talent heard, stated: _Edalia Valdemar. You are my chosen, and I am your Companion. Through death alone will we part._ :

Edalia _VALDEMAR?_

As in the only surviving member of the royal family, the one illegitimate child of the King?

The girl's –Edalia's- mouth dropped open, as the seemingly weak Companion visibly gained in strength as she touched him. She quickly mirrored his own actions a while earlier, flinging herself into Relaith. He simply rested against Rolan, watching them, happy that his old friend had found his true partner at last.

And as two of them walked hand-in-hand into the Throne Room, the Court rose and solemnly hailed the new Queen and her Queen's Own.

* * *

Finished. How is it? Please comment, thanks! 


End file.
